Path 2

Path 2

Best Fascinating Sports Bar

October 4, 2012

The Distinguished Wakamba Cocktail Lounge is a real New York find, the kind of place that’s not supposed to exist anymore except in indie films about the ’70s, but there it is. It’s a hole-in-the-wall with a wacky ambience to match its name, making it way more textured than your average sports bar—or average anything. The lounge looks semi-tropical/safari-ish on the outside, and inside there are miniature mirrored grottoes backing the bar, giving the place a sort of Goodfellas-meets–Boca Raton touch. But the real foci are the multiple screens for those who watch sports events like they were Dancing With the Stars. The sign outside dutifully tells you the schedule: “12:30 Mets at Pirates; 7 p.m. Royals at Yankees; 8 p.m. Devils, Rangers, Game 6.” Even more important is the price chart, which is especially delightful from noon to 5 p.m.: “$3 domestic beers, $4 imported, $5 well drinks.” Drinking at noon? Sure, why not? At any time, this place draws stragglers from Penn Station and the Port Authority as well as the office crowd and some ready-to-unwind school personnel. Distinguished indeed. 543 Eighth Avenue (10018)